Research & Reports

Distribution is, by its nature, the linchpin to the variable insurance space: if you know the channels an insurer sells in, you can get a good idea as to what products and riders it offers...

With this report we’re going to take a little time to consider what’s currently popular in variable annuity contract designs, based on our understanding of sales trends and our evaluations of new products filed this...

During April we didn’t identify a great many new variable fund registrations, rather most SEC filings over the month consisted of routine annual prospectus updates, many of which reiterated, or made official, changes or adjustments...

For the publicly-traded variable annuity insurers we track on a quarterly basis, 2007 seemed to start off on a slow note, at least on a sequential basis: a few companies saw modest increases in sales...

As the May prospectus update season is now in full swing, we anticipate that a fresh stream of new variable annuity living benefit concepts will be coming out due to competitive pressure. It’s always challenging...

In this commentary we’re going to quickly give our perspective on news and developments related to variable annuities and defined contribution (DC) plans, especially 401(k)s, since many insurers perceive these programs to be a possible...

If there’s any one trend in variable annuity design we see building momentum, it’s that of insurers offering contracts with lower-than-average costs, usually combined with a relatively modest number of sub-accounts and optional benefits. Since...

Maybe we’ve said this all too often, but a pervasive theme in variable funds of late has been that of asset allocation, and in March this held true again, as there were a number of...

There’s little doubt that success in the variable annuity marketplace over the years has been largely dictated by product and distribution strength, competition depending on what’s currently in favor, whether it be the latest VA...